Keeper League Questions / Advice

[sspun13]

Editted because apparently long posts scare people away from responding lol.

 

I'm new to Keeper Leagues, currently in a 2 man keeper league where in order to keep a player you have to surrender the draft pick that you took him with. Is this standard format? What other formats are there in keeper leagues?

 

Also any heads up strategies to the differences between regular leagues and keeper leagues would be appreciated.

Edited May 17, 2009 by sspun13

[sspun13]

so you can get CJ and AR for your 13th and 14th round picks?

 

Yep. I know it's obvious but I started overthinking letting a stud back into the draft pool, curious on any keeper strategies anyone might have that are diff from regular drafts.

[Big Country]

As far as length of post, that is irrelevant.. you posted late at night on a weekend in the offseason, essentially the slowest traffic point possible. Other than midday midweek in the offseason, traffic to the advice forum is generally low.

 

As far as styles of keeper leagues, there are tons. Some leagues are a fixed number with no cost, many are like yours where you surrended the pick the player was taken, many are similar to your, but you surrender a pick X number of rounds higher (usually 1-3) than where the player was taken, then you can also get in to dynasty and contract leagues.

 

Without the details of your available options, can;t give advice as to your particular situation.

 

My general strategy in partial keeper leagues is to figure out who I want to keep, then deal every other possible player, or package keepers and non-keepers for draft picks or a better keeper.

[sspun13]

Well here's the core of my team, I'm in a 2 keeper league.

 

Brian Westbrook (round 1)

Marques Colston (round 3)

Tony Gonzalez (round 5)

Dwayne Bowe (round 6)

Aaron Rodgers (round 13)

Chris Johnson (round 14)

 

Obviously Rodgers and Johnson are going to be my keepers b/c I grabbed them so late. I'm just hesitant to throw Westbrook back into the draft pool. Especially b/c we dropped 2 teams, so the bottom half of round 1 is much weaker than the top half. We pick our draft position and then declare keepers, so I started considering keeping Westbrook if I had a late Round 1, seems like a waste though b/c then I'm down 1 player if I do that.

[Company of Heroes]

Well here's the core of my team, I'm in a 2 keeper league.

 

Brian Westbrook (round 1)

Marques Colston (round 3)

Tony Gonzalez (round 5)

Dwayne Bowe (round 6)

Aaron Rodgers (round 13)

Chris Johnson (round 14)

 

Obviously Rodgers and Johnson are going to be my keepers b/c I grabbed them so late. I'm just hesitant to throw Westbrook back into the draft pool. Especially b/c we dropped 2 teams, so the bottom half of round 1 is much weaker than the top half. We pick our draft position and then declare keepers, so I started considering keeping Westbrook if I had a late Round 1, seems like a waste though b/c then I'm down 1 player if I do that.

 

BW is borderline 1st round this year, so no huge deal to let him go.

[sspun13]

BW is borderline 1st round this year, so no huge deal to let him go.

 

Either way guess I have no choice.

[Big Country]

You have a lot of choice, it's just that CJ and Rodgers are offering such a spectacular price, it is hard to pass on them.

 

BW is decent value if you are giving up a late 1st, especially if it is a PPR league. Colston is fair value for a third, as he'll generally go late 2nd/early third, Bowe is decent value for a 6th as he'll generally go late 3rd.

 

As much as I hate wasting keepers on QBs, forfeiting a 13th for Rodgers is a spectacular bargain, and the same can be said of CJ for a 14th.

[tazinib1]

You have a lot of choice, it's just that CJ and Rodgers are offering such a spectacular price, it is hard to pass on them.

 

BW is decent value if you are giving up a late 1st, especially if it is a PPR league. Colston is fair value for a third, as he'll generally go late 2nd/early third, Bowe is decent value for a 6th as he'll generally go late 3rd.

 

As much as I hate wasting keepers on QBs, forfeiting a 13th for Rodgers is a spectacular bargain, and the same can be said of CJ for a 14th.

 

Understatement of the year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Big Country]

Understatement of the year.

 

The lower the number of keepers, the less likely a QB is worth a slot (depending on league setup of course).

[Gopher]

Understatement of the year.

 

The lower the number of keepers, the less likely a QB is worth a slot (depending on league setup of course).

I tend to agree with both of these, usually, but without knowing all of the specifics here (scoring, roster requirements, what draft slot you have, etc.), I still say you would be hard-pressed not to keep Rodgers, just because of what a great value that is. By keeping him, you've basically assured yourself that you don't HAVE to draft a QB in the first 10 rounds or so. I mean, all indications are that he will be just as good, fantasy-wise, as last year, if not better... great WR corp, Rodgers is only going to get better, the rest of the division is getting better... all of those things point to Rodgers being a premiere fantasy QB for years to come, IMO.

 

In leagues like this, you have to look at a few things, IMO. First, who can you keep that will cost you a draft pick significantly later than when they would normally be drafted? The key word here is "significantly"... that might mean a few spots in the first round (in the case of Westbrook, losing the 12th pick when he might go in the 5-7 range of a PPR draft would be a significant difference), losing a 6th rounder for Bowe (who might go in the 3rd/4th round otherwise), or several rounds in the case of Rodgers. I guess what I'm saying is that the "value" of the difference decreases almost exponentially as you go further into the draft. A difference of one round early in the draft (a 1st compared to a 2nd) is far more significant than a two-round difference late (10th compared to 12th, for example).

 

Where you are slotted to draft makes a huge difference. If you give up Westbrook, can you draft someone as good or better than him with your first pick? If not, I think you have to strongly consider keeping him. Value is one thing... keeping great "value" players, but putting yourself in a position where you have no studs, is another.

 

Starting lineup requirements and scoring make a difference as well... How many RB's must you start? How many points are QB TD passes? Is it a PPR (point per reception) league? Those are all things you should consider.

 

Finally, I would look at the other rosters in the league, and try to "project" who else will be kept by the other owners. This will do two things... First, it should give you a pretty good idea of who might be available for your first pick, and subsequent picks, depending on who YOU keep. If you give up Westbrook, and retain your 1st rounder, you will more than likely pick a few slots earlier than your actual slot, due to others giving up their first-round picks. Secondly, this should give you an idea if there are any other owners who don't really have two solid keeper prospects. If they don't, maybe you could trade Rodgers, Westbrook, or Bowe... if nothing else, for a slight "bump" to improve your draft position in one or more rounds. After all, you're only going to be able to keep two... might as well get something for the others, if you can.

 

Conversely, there might be another owner out there who has three or more stellar keeper options... you might be able to make a deal to acquire something better than what you've got... They're probably going to be willing to part with that third player for cheap, as their only other alternative is to simply lose them for nothing at all.

 

Hope that all makes sense... Good luck.

 

Oh, and some "long posts" have good info and are worth reading, so don't hesitate to share more details next time.